NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science Civics Chapter 7: NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Civics Chapter 7 Public Facilities are provided here for students to study and score good marks in the board exams. News reports in 2019 revealed that Maharashtra was facing a water emergency of unprecedented proportions. Media reports also claimed that IT companies in Chennai were asking employees to work from home. Consecutively, in North India, residents in the arid Thar Desert of Rajasthan were dishing out Rs 2,500 to buy 2,500 liters of water, which they shared with their cattle.
Not only is water necessary for us to meet our daily needs, but it also helps avoid numerous ailments associated with water. Water is crucial for life and good health. Article 21 of the Indian Constitution acknowledges the right to water as a component of the right to life. To make it easier for students to analyze the answers to the problems, the solutions are presented here in an easily understandable format. The exercises' NCERT solutions will help prepare for school exams as well. Water is not only essential for us to meet our daily needs, but it also helps prevent many illnesses linked to the water. Life and well health depend on water. The water right is recognised as a component of the right to life in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The solutions are provided here in an easily comprehensible format to facilitate students' analysis of the answers to the problems. The NCERT solutions for the exercises will also help you get ready for your school examinations.NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science Civics Chapter 7 PDF
1. Why do you think there are so few cases of private water supply in the world?
One basic need is water. Therefore, everyone must have access to clean drinking water to live a normal life. It must be made available to everyone, either at no cost or at a reasonable cost. However, in situations where private firms were given control over the delivery of water, the price of water sharply increased as a result of their exclusive focus on increasing profits. For many, this rendered water unaffordable. Large-scale demonstrations were held in cities, and rioting broke out everywhere. The governments were compelled by this to reclaim the service from the private sector. As a result, there aren't many private water supply instances worldwide.2. Do you think water in Chennai is available to and affordable to all? Discuss.
In Chennai, not every individual has equal access to water. The municipality provides water to Chennai, but it can't keep up with demand. While many places experience irregular water supplies, some receive regular water supplies. Middle-class and upper-class people purchase water in packages or directly from tankers. The impoverished bear the brunt of the scarcity of water since they are unable to pay for packaged water or tankers. Colonies farther away from the storage stations receive less water than those closer to them.3. How is the sale of water by farmers to water dealers in Chennai affecting the local people? Do you think local people can object to such exploitation of groundwater? Can the government do anything in this regard?
Water scarcity has given private enterprises a chance to sell water to cities by purchasing it from locations throughout the metropolis. Using a fleet of more than 13,000 water tankers, water is brought into Chennai from surrounding towns like Karungizhi Palur and Mamandur hamlet, which is located to the north of the city. Farmers receive an advance payment from the water dealers each month for the privilege of using the water resources on their property. In this manner, the water that is taken away not only leaves a deficit for agricultural use but also makes drinking water supplies in the settlements more scarce. As a result, in each of these cities and villages, the level of groundwater has significantly decreased.4. Why are most of the private hospitals and private schools located in major cities and not in towns or rural areas?
Instead of being found in towns or villages, the majority of private hospitals and schools are found in cities. Their services are expensive and only accessible to the wealthiest residents of the city, as their only goal is to make as much profit as possible.5. Do you think the distribution of public facilities in our country is adequate and fair? Give an example of your own to explain.
While it is undeniable that everyone should have access to public amenities, the truth is that there are far too few of these kinds of spaces. In our nation, the distribution of public amenities is neither equitable nor sufficient. For instance, Delhi residents have access to all public amenities, including public transportation, schools, colleges, water, power, healthcare, and sanitation. However, if we travel to locations a few kilometers apart, like Mathura or Aligarh, people must deal with serious difficulties regarding these facilities. Shortages of water and blackouts of electricity are common occurrences in certain areas. Additionally, public transport is not well developed. Towns and villages lack amenities in comparison to metro areas and big cities. Poorer communities receive inadequate services in comparison to affluent communities. Putting these facilities in the hands of private businesses is not the solution. The most crucial thing to remember is that every person in the nation has a right to these amenities, which ought to be distributed fairly to everyone.6. Take some of the public facilities in your area, such as water, electricity, etc. Is there scope to improve these? What in your opinion should be done? Complete the table.
Is it available? | How can it be improved? | |
Water | ||
Electricity | ||
Road | ||
Public Transport |
Answer
Is it available? | How can it be improved? | |
Water | yes | Constructing separate water tanks and making water supply available 24 hours. |
Electricity | yes | Making electricity supply available 24 hours by keeping a check on electricity theft and its conservation |
Road | yes | No improvement is needed. But if there are no proper roads, then the construction of new roads, more flyovers, and highways will be of help |
Public Transport | yes | Public transport is good, but better connectivity to more areas in the city can be achieved by introducing new buses and increasing the frequency of buses |
7. Are the above public facilities shared equally by all the people in your area? Elaborate.
No, not all areas have equal access to the aforementioned facilities. Not everyone shares the same amount of water. While every home in a middle-class neighborhood has a separate water connection, slum dwellers must make do with a single water tap. Those living in slums cannot afford to buy water from tankers, whereas middle-class households purchase it to suit their demands. On the other hand, everyone shares equal access to other amenities like electricity, roads, and public transportation.8. Data on some of the public facilities are collected as part of the Census. Discuss with your teacher when and how the Census is conducted.
Students have to do this under the guidance of their teacher.9. Private educational institutions – schools, colleges, universities, and technical and vocational training institutes are coming up in our country in a big way. On the other hand, educational institutes run by the government are becoming relatively less important. What do you think would be the impact of this? Discuss.
Since education is a fundamental human right, everyone should have access to it. However, because its primary goal is to make money, private educational institutions charge exorbitant tuition that only the wealthiest members of society can afford. Thus, only the wealthy elite are able to enjoy their right to a top-notch education. Similar to this, weaker groups are once more denied access to high-quality education if government educational institutions fall short of expectations. The difference in educational quality between the rich and the poor is the consequence of this.